|
on Microeconomic European Issues |
|
Issue of 2011‒08‒15
seventeen papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta University of Modena and Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Bakucs, Zoltan; Ferto, Imre; Fogarasi, Jozsef; Latruffe, Laure; Desjeux, Yann; Matveev, Eduard; Marongiu, Sonia; Dolman, Mark; Soboh, Rafat |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyse and compare various efficiency indicators for a number of European Union (EU) countries: Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden. The availability of long period datasets between 1990 and 2006, allow us to concentrate on the long time trends in technical efficiency especially in Old Member States. This study is the first which may provide a comprehensive overview on the development in farm level efficiency across eight European countries. Our main results are the following. Generally, all countries have relatively high levels of mean technical efficiency ranging from 0.72 to 0.92 for both field crops and dairy farms. Interestingly the majority of countries have better performance in dairy sectors in terms of higher levels of mean efficiency than in field crop production. A slightly decreasing trend however may be observed for all countries. Technical Efficiency estimates are largely in line with those obtained by previous studies. Stability analysis revealed that in average 60% of farms maintain their efficiency ranking in two consecutive years, whilst 20% improve and 20% worsen their positions for all countries. However, these ratios slightly fluctuate around these values for one year to next year. Mobility analysis ranks countries according to the mobility of SFA scores within the distribution. Farms in New Member States are more mobile than those in EU15. Total productivity changes are analysed in two steps. First, we do not find a definite trend in total factor productivity changes. Second, we address the question whether total factor productivity changes converge or diverge over time. Using panel unit root tests our estimations reveal a convergence of productivity across old EU member countries during analysed period. Finally, we decompose the total factor productivity changes into its main elements. Field crop farm indicators generally present significantly higher volatility than dairy farms. Random effect panel regression of Total Factor Productivity Change on its components shows Technological Change as being the significant positive driver for crop farms, whilst Technical Efficiency Change followed by Technological Change are the most important for dairy farms. In addition we do not find significant impacts of CAP reforms in 1992 and 2000 on total productivity changes. |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2011–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc11:108773&r=eur |
| By: | Ceren Ozgen (VU University Amsterdam); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam); Jacques Poot (National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis (NIDEA), University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand) |
| Abstract: | The concentration of people with diverse socio-cultural backgrounds in particular geographic areas may boost the creation of new ideas, knowledge spillovers, entrepreneurship, and economic growth. In this paper we measure the impact of the size, skills, and diversity of immigration on the innovativeness of host regions. For this purpose we construct a panel of data on 170 regions in Europe (NUTS 2 level) for the periods 1991-1995 and 2001-2005. Innovation outcomes are measured by means of the number of patent applications per million inhabitants. Given the geographical concentration and subsequent diffusion of innovation activity, and the spatial selectivity of immigrants' location choices, we take account of spatial dependence and of the endogeneity of immigrant settlement in our econometric modelling. We use the location of McDonald's restaurants as a novel instrument for immigration. The results confirm that innovation is clearly a function of regio nal accessibility, industrial structure, human capital, and GDP growth. In addition, patent applications are positively affected by the diversity of the immigrant community beyond a critical minimum level. An increase in the fractionalization index by 0.1 from the regional mean of 0.5 increases patent applications per million inhabitants by about 0.2 percent. Moreover, the average skill level of immigrants (proxied by global regions of origin) also affects patent applications. In contrast, an increasing share of foreigners in the population does not conclusively impact on patent applications. Therefore, a distinct composition of immigrants from different backgrounds is a more important driving force for innovation than the sheer size of the immigrant population in a certain locality. |
| Keywords: | immigration; cultural diversity; economic growth; innovation; spatial autocorrelation |
| JEL: | J61 O31 R23 |
| Date: | 2011–08–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20110112&r=eur |
| By: | Strzelecki, Paweł; Wyszynski, Robert |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study is to present the characteristic of present-day migrants and the potential for possible migration after the opening of the labour markets in Austria and Germany. The econometric analysis shows that differences in unemployment rates between sending and receiving countries were the most important for changes in the emigration from Poland in the period 2002-2009. Mostly due to persistence of these differences the intruduction of the open-door policy by two last EU countries in the spring of 2011 can intensify the further emigration flows from Poland. Data concerning the structure of the present emigration in Germany indicate that emigrants from Poland are mainly persons with vocational and secondary education, working primarily in the sections of services (e.g. health care and social assistance, accommodation and catering). There is also a relatively high percentage of persons employed in agriculture and the construction sector. These sectors will probably continue to be the most frequent workplace for emigrants, where the internal supply of work seems insufficient to meet the needs of this part of the German economy. The current limitations push better educated emigrants from Poland to work mainly as specialists in the sectors of economy preferred by Germany or as self-employed persons. The caps applied by German authorities concerning the number of Polish employees on secondment under the framework of the cross-border provision of services remain underused. Moreover, German data (which do not cover persons holding dual nationality) indicate that for the time being emigration from Poland is, to a large extent, circulatory by nature. Examples of other EU countries which already opened their labour markets indicate that the removal of barriers to access may increase emigration in the first year, but the differences and changes in unemployment rates among countries are a much more important factor for migratory flows, particularly at a later stage. The opening of labour markets in Germany and Austria may contribute to a change in the nature of the present short-term to a more permanent migration from Poland. The first part of the study presents information on the existing work limitations for Poles in Germany and the characteristics of the present emigrants from Poland to Germany and Austria. The second part discusses determinants of emigration in 2002-2009, putting a special emphasis on those countries which already managed to open their labour markets for the ‘new’ EU members. The third part delivers the estimates of possible emigration changes from Poland to Germany and Austria that are going to happen after 1 May 2011. |
| Keywords: | labour migration; open-door policy; Poland; Germany; determinants of migration |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2011–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:32586&r=eur |
| By: | Marco Alderighi (Universita della Valle d'Aosta, Aosta, Italy; Universita Bocconi, Italy); Alessandra Cento (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Milano, Italy); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam); Piet Rietveld (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a model of second-degree price discrimination and inter-group effects to describe the full-service pricing behaviour in the passenger aviation market. Consumer heterogeneity is assumed on both a horizontal and a vertical dimension, while various distinct market structures, some of which include low-cost carriers (LCCs), are considered. In the theoretical model framework, we derive that the rivalry between full-service carriers (FSCs) reduces fare differences between the business and leisure segments. Furthermore, the presence of LCCs increases fare gaps between leisure and business travellers, and it also induces FSCs to decrease fares in the leisure segment and eventually to increase them in the business one. This last outcome emerges from a change in passenger arrangements caused by inter-group effects. In our empirical analysis, we use data on published airfares of Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM and Alitalia for the main city-pairs from Italy to Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. Our results show that the empirical results provide support for our theoretical propositions. |
| JEL: | L1 L93 D4 |
| Date: | 2011–08–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20110118&r=eur |
| By: | Fataciune (Badalan), Nicoleta; Matei, Lucica |
| Abstract: | Public Service Motivation (PSM) is a relatively recent concept, defined for the first time in the 1990s in the United States by Perry and Wise as being the general predisposition of an individual to respond to motives, values which are to be encountered only in public institutions. These values, which represent the basis for the construction of PSM are not institutionalized in the same degree and in the same manner everywhere, which creates differences according to the specificity of the region, the state or the organizational environment. European studies regarding PSM have mainly focused on Western Europe: France, The Netherlands, Belgium. For this reason, in this article we aim to analyze the concept of PSM and set the basis for a thorough research in order to make it operational in the countries of South-Eastern Europe: Romania and Bulgaria. Thus, we wish to bring our own contribution to the development of a theoretical and methodological framework for PSM in Romania and in South-Eastern European countries. The objectives of the article focus on: formulating an exhaustive definition of the concept, analysing Perry's measurement scale based on 24 items and the relevance of these items in the above-mentioned countries, adapting/adjusting the measurement scale according to the national/regional specificities of the public service values. |
| Keywords: | regional differences; public values; PSM; Public Service Motivation |
| Date: | 2011–08–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsu:apasro:395&r=eur |
| By: | Tobias Boehm (Department of Economics, University of Muenster); Nadine Riedel (Centre for Business Taxation, University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether the institution of life time tenure for public sector employees affects the selection of workers into private and public sector occupation. Precisely, we argue that more generous employment protection for public sector employees may induce risk averse individuals to select into civil service employment even if they have a low intrinsic motivation and talent for this type of occupation. To empirically test for this effect, we exploit the natural experiment of the German reunification in 1990. While occupational choices in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) before 1990 may be affected by the described security motive, workers in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) enjoyed an employment guarantee irrespective of their occupation. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we employ a difference-in-difference approach that takes absenteeism as a proxy for intrinsic worker motivation and productivity. The results suggest a significant selection effect: public sector employees who made their occupational choice in the FRG report more days of absence than the control group of civil servants who chose their occupation in the former GDR. This effect turns out to be robust against controlling for potential socio-economic and cultural differences between the groups. |
| Keywords: | public sector, employment protection, occupational choice |
| JEL: | J45 J5 H8 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:btx:wpaper:1109&r=eur |
| By: | William Latham (Department of Economics,University of Delaware); Dmitry Volodin (Department of Economics,University of Delaware); Christian Le Bas (Laboratoire d'Économie de la Firme et des Institutions, Université Lumière Lyon); Riad Bouklia Hassane (Laboratoire d'Économie de la Firme et des Institutions, Université Lumière Lyon) |
| Abstract: | Regional creative resources include inventors. Policies conducive to inventors’ productivity or attracting productive inventors promote regional development. We build on prior work on inventor mobility and productivity, analyzing German, French and British patents filed in the US by 7,500 “prolific” inventors (fifteen or more inventions). We measure inventor mobility across regions, companies and technologies. We analyze the relationships among mobility, productivity and value. We find geographic mobility increases inventor productivity in the UK and France but not in Germany and geographic mobility is not related to the value of inventions except in Germany where it has a negative effect. |
| Keywords: | Patents, inventor mobility, prolific inventors |
| JEL: | O31 R58 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dlw:wpaper:11-06.&r=eur |
| By: | Moss, Joan E.; Binfield, Julian; Zhang, Lichun; Patton, Myles; Kim, In Seck |
| Abstract: | Successive Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms and trade liberalisation have led to a more market-orientated European agricultural sector, with EU commodity prices now more closely linked to world prices. As a consequence EU prices have become more volatile. Greater price volatility increases uncertainty and raises fresh challenges for projections of policy impacts in the EU. To take account of world price volatility stochastic modelling has been applied to the FAPRI-EU partial equilibrium model, which includes a UK modelling system. Stochastic modelling provides a means to capture some of the inherent uncertainty associated with agricultural production systems. By varying assumptions about certain exogenous variables, stochastic models can be used to examine the different ways markets may behave. Variable world prices are incorporated within the EU GOLD model. This process identifies the impact of a stochastic distribution of world prices on EU agriculture rather than the single point estimates in the conventional deterministic approach. The results outlined in this study demonstrate the impact of volatile world prices on EU and, in particular, UK prices and market control instruments |
| Keywords: | Agricultural policy, Stochastic modelling, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2011–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc11:108771&r=eur |
| By: | Eleni Karagiannaki |
| Abstract: | In this paper we document the evolution of the annual flow of inheritances in the UK during the period 1984-2005 and provide estimates for the overall magnitude and the distribution of inherited wealth. Our results indicate that the period under examination the annual flow of inheritance increased markedly, from £22 billion in 1984 to £56 billion in 2005. The main drivers behind this increase were the rise in house prices and to a lesser extent the increase in the proportion of inheritances which included housing assets. Our results, based on analysis of survey data, show that the distribution of inheritances is characterized by a very high degree of inequality (comparable by and large to that observed in personal wealth) and that this has increased over time. However, the inequality increasing effect from the greater inequality in the distribution of inheritance was counterbalanced by the increase in the percentage of the population who received an inheritance. Our results also show that inheritance is positively associated with socio-economic status and that the disparities between groups became slightly more pronounced over time (mainly across educational groups). However, our evidence also shows that inheritance for the majority of recipients is fairly small and that large inheritances are limited to a very small minority of the population. |
| Keywords: | inheritance, wealth, intergenerational transfers, inequality |
| JEL: | D10 D31 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sticas:case146&r=eur |
| By: | Michelsen, Carl Christian (E.ON Energy Research Center, Institute for Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN), RWTH Aachen University); Madlener, Reinhard (E.ON Energy Research Center, Institute for Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN), RWTH Aachen University) |
| Abstract: | Space heating accounts for a large fraction of the primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions of residential buildings. Besides targeting the insulation standard, residential heating systems (RHS) based on renewable energy sources offer the potential to reduce energy demand for space heating. Therefore, understanding the determinants of the homeowners’ adoption decisions in favor of RHS becomes increasingly important. In this paper, we analyze the influence of preferences about RHS-specific attributes on the adoption decision. Moreover, we control for the influence of socio-demographic, home and spatial characteristics. For this purpose, we specify the discrete appliance choice as a multinomial logit model. We apply the model to representative survey data for Germany. Our findings show that there are different drivers for the adoption of RHS in newly built and existing 1- and 2-family homes, and that the importance of key drivers also differs across groups of homeowners and RHS, respectively. First, we find that adopters of a gas- and oil-fired condensing boiler with solar thermal support have a strong preference for energy savings, while adopters of a heat pump or wood pellet-fired boiler prefer being more independent from fossil fuels. Second, we find preferences about RHS-specific attributes to be highly relevant for owners of newly built homes, while evidence for an influence of the control variables is scarce. Third, we find that socio-demographic, home and spatial characteristics have a higher and more differentiated impact in the case of existing homes. These variables predetermine the decision context and leave less leeway for the influence of preferences when replacing a RHS in an existing home. |
| Keywords: | Technology adoption; Consumer behavior; residential heating systems; space heating; discrete choice |
| JEL: | D12 O33 Q41 R22 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:fcnwpa:2011_009&r=eur |
| By: | Saamah Abdallah; Ian Gough; Victoria Johnson; Josh Ryan-Collins; Cindy Smith |
| Abstract: | This paper maps the distribution of total direct and embodied emissions of greenhouse gases by households in the UK and goes on to analyse their main drivers. Previous research has studied the distribution of direct emissions by households, notably from domestic fuel and electricity, but this is the first to cover the indirect emissions embodied in the consumption of food, consumer goods and services, including imports. To study total emissions by British households we link an input-output model of the UK economy to the UK Expenditure and Food Survey. Results are presented as descriptive statistics followed by regression analysis. All categories of per capita emission rise with income which is the main driver. Two other variables are always significant: household composition, partly reflecting economies of scale in consumption and emissions in larger households, and employment status. This 'standard' model explains 35% of variation in total emissions, reflecting further variation within income groups and household types. We also compute the distribution of emissions derived from the consumption of welfare state services: here, lower income and pensioner households 'emit' more due to their greater use of these services. To take further account of the social implications of these findings, we first estimate emissions per £ of income. This shows a reverse slope with emissions per £ rising as one descends the income scale. The decline with income is especially acute for domestic energy, housing and food emissions, 'necessary' expenditures with a lower income elasticity of demand. Next, we move away from per capita emissions by assuming children under 14 emit half that of adults, which reduces disparities between household types. To implement personal carbon allowances, further research will be needed into the carbon allowances of children and single person households. Current government policies to raise carbon prices mainly in domestic energy are found to be especially regressive, but tracking total carbon consumption within a country would require radical changes in monitoring carbon flows at national borders. In the meantime, poorly targeted policies to compensate 'fuel poor' families should give way to more radical 'eco-social' policies, such as house retrofitting, coupled with 'social' tariffs for domestic energy. |
| Keywords: | household income distribution, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon policies, social policies, direct and embodied emissions |
| JEL: | H23 I32 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sticas:case152&r=eur |
| By: | Vítor João Pereira Domingues Martinho (Centro de Estudos em Educação, Tecnologias e Saúde (CI&DETS)) |
| Abstract: | This study analyses, through cross-section estimation methods, the influence of spatial effects in productivity (product per worker), at economic sectors level of the NUTs III of mainland Portugal, from 1995 to 1999 and from 2000 to 2005 (taking in count the data availability and the Portuguese and European context), considering the Verdoorn relationship. From the analyses of the data, by using Moran I statistics, it is stated that productivity is subject to a positive spatial autocorrelation (productivity of each of the regions develops in a similar manner to each of the neighbouring regions), above all in services. The total sectors of all regional economy present, also, indicators of being subject to positive autocorrelation in productivity. Bearing in mind the results of estimations, it can been that the effects of spatial spillovers, spatial lags (measuring spatial autocorrelation through the spatially lagged dependent variable) and spatial error (measuring spatial autocorrelation through the spatially lagged error terms), influence the Verdoorn relationship when it is applied to the economic sectors of Portuguese regions. The results obtained for the two periods are different, as expected, and are better in second period, because, essentially, the European and national public supports. |
| Keywords: | Spatial Econometrics, Economic Growth, Productivity Analysis, Regional Development |
| JEL: | C21 O40 O47 R58 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:11/2011&r=eur |
| By: | Carlo Drago (University of Naples Federico II); Francesco Millo (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Roberto Ricciuti (Department of Economics (University of Verona)); Paolo Satella (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | We use an innovative and extended dataset (8 years with 2,057 firms) composed of Italian listed firms. Italy appears to be an interesting case for this kind of study, due to the high presence of interlocking directorate. In particular we use Social Network Analysis to analyze the growth of the female directorship network. We also study the dynamics of change over time, and the different behavior of firms respect the growth of the female directorates. At the same time we study the impact of interlocking directorate and female interlocking directorate on equity value and firm performance. We find that interlocking directorate has a negative impact on equity value and firm performance, which is consistent with economic theory and previous literature findings. Furthermore, female interlocking directorate has no effect on firm value and performance. |
| Keywords: | Corporate Governance, Interlocking Directorships, Company Performance, Social Network Analysis, Board Diversity. |
| JEL: | C14 C23 G34 L14 M21 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:10/2011&r=eur |
| By: | D. Fiorillo;; F. Sabatini; |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the first empirical assessment of the causal relationship between social capital and health in Italy. The analysis draws on the 2000 wave of the Multipurpose Survey on Household conducted by the Italian Institute of Statistics on a representative sample of the population (n = 50,618). Our measure of social capital is the frequency of meetings with friends. Based on probit and instrumental variables estimates, we find that higher levels of social capital increase perceived good health. |
| Keywords: | health, instrumental variables, income, social interactions, social capital, Italy. |
| JEL: | I12 I18 Z1 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:11/23&r=eur |
| By: | ANGELINI, V.;; CAVAPOZZI, D.;; CORAZZINI L.;; PACCAGNELL O.; |
| Abstract: | Self-reported life satisfaction is highly heterogeneous across similar countries. This phenomenon can be largely explained by the di¤erent scales and benchmarks adopted by individuals when evaluating themselves. We use cross-sectional data on the population aged 50 and over in ten European countries to compare estimates from a model in which reporting styles are assumed to be constant across respon- dents with those from a model in which anchoring vignettes are used to correct for individual-speci?c scale biases. We ?nd that variations in response scales explain a large part of the di¤erences found in raw data. Moreover, the cross-country ranking in life satisfaction signi?cantly depends on scale biases. |
| Keywords: | Life satisfaction, scale biases, anchoring vignettes, counterfactuals |
| JEL: | C42 D12 I31 J14 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:11/20&r=eur |
| By: | Ian Gough; Sam Marden |
| Abstract: | This paper asks whether the policies and programmes enacted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the UK will compete with other goals of public policy, in particular social policy goals. The Climate Change Act 2008 has set the UK some of the most demanding targets in the world: to reduce GHG emissions (compared with 1990) by at least 80% by 2050 and by at least 34% by 2020 - just nine years away. A wide array of climate change mitigation policies (CCMPs) have been put in place to bring this about. Will these compete fiscally with the large public expenditures on the welfare state? We address this question by surveying and costing all UK government policies that have a climate change mitigation objective and which are expressed through taxation, government expenditures and government-mandated expenditures by energy suppliers and other businesses and which are directed toward the household sector. Our conclusion is that expenditures on CCMPs are tiny - around one quarter of one per cent of GDP - and will not rise significantly. Within this the share of direct spending by government will fall and that obligated on utility companies will rise. Green taxes are also planned to fall as a share of GDP. There is no evidence here of fiscal competition between the welfare state and the environmental state. However, the use of mandated electricity and gas markets will impose rising costs on the household sector, which will bear more heavily on lower income households and will increase 'fuel poverty'. Thus demands on traditional social policies are likely to rise. More radical policy reforms will be needed to integrate climate change and social policy goals. |
| Keywords: | carbon mitigation policy, social policy, fiscal competition |
| JEL: | Q58 I38 H53 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sticas:case145&r=eur |
| By: | Nollenberger, Natalia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona); Rodriguez-Planas, Nuria (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | Reconciling work and family is high on many governments' agenda, especially in countries, such as Spain, with record-low fertility and female labor force participation rates. This paper analyzes the effects of a large-scale provision of publicly subsidized child care in Spain in the early 1990s, addressing the impact on mothers’ short- and long-run employment outcomes (up to four years after the child was eligible to participate in the program). Exploiting the staggered timing and age-targeting of this child-care expansion, our estimates show that the policy led to a sizable increase in employment (8%), and hours worked (9%) of mothers with age-eligible (3-year-old) children, and that these effects persisted over time. Heterogeneity matters. While persistence is strong among mothers with a high-school degree, the effects of the program on maternal employment quickly fade away among those without a high-school degree. These findings are consistent with the program reducing the depreciation of human capital. The lack of any results among college educated mothers, which represent less than one tenth of mothers, is most likely due to the fact that they are able to pay day care (even when it is mainly privately supplied), and that most of them are already strongly attached to the labor force. |
| Keywords: | mother's labor supply, preschool children, childcare, quasi-natural experiment, differences-in-differences-in-differences |
| JEL: | H42 H52 I20 J13 J21 J22 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5888&r=eur |